Two of the four commissioned Bombardier CRJ900 aircrafts have Tuesday morning landed at Entebbe International Airport as part of the much anticipated plan for the revival of Uganda Airlines.
The aircrafts, that carry Uganda’s national flag on the wingtip, are expected to significantly boost the countries trade on the global market and also facilitate travel across the continent.
The arrival of the bombardiers and revival of Uganda Airlines is a step closer to UTB’s goal of marketing destination Uganda.
Commenting about the arrival of the aircrafts, Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) CEO, Lilly Ajarova, expressed optimism at the benefits that this will bring to Uganda’s tourism industry.
“We are extremely pleased to see Uganda Airlines revived after 17years. As the institution mandated to promote Uganda, we are ready and excited to work with Uganda Airlines and Civil Aviation Authority to ensure that both local and international travelers have a great customer experience aboard these aircrafts. As UTB, we pledge to use this new development as a tool to promote destination Uganda – the Pearl of Africa,” she noted.
According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), in 1970, there were 310 million air travelers. In 1990, 1 billion people traveled by air. This number doubled to 2 billion by 2005. The same number increased to 3 billion in 2013 and by 2017, the number had risen to 4 billion. This number is expected to increase to 8.2 billion by 2037.
“With such estimates, it’s important for us to work with Uganda Airlines and the Civil Aviation to collaboratively bring even more value to customers to enhance their overall Ugandan experience. In other words, experiencing what Uganda offers will start the moment a traveler boards the aircrafts,” Ajarova says.
The new bombardiers will be flying regional routes within the East African Community. The destination flights routes include Nairobi, Kigali, Darelsalam, Kilimajaro Mombasa, Goma, Zanzibar, Harare, Mogadishu and Addis Ababa.
